A Handful of Film Reviews

Thanks to LoveFilm, my recently seen movie quota is significantly up at the moment. And you lucky people get to enjoy my so called reviews.

Beginning with..!


Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel



What Shaun of the Dead is to zombies, FAQ about Time Travel is to, well, time travel. And the comparison is obvious and no doubt one that's been used numerous times before (including in the trailer). But, it does capture the general style and feel of the film quite well. It's that quirky, off-beat, British humor we've all grown to know and love (unless you haven't).

Staring Roy out of the IT Crowd, Shakespeare out of that episode of Doctor Who and this other guy, the misadventures of these unlikely heroes centre around the men's bathroom of their local pub where there's some sort of time leak - Weirdness ensues!

And to be honest, I thought it was fantastic. I mean, it's the sort of convoluted time travel madness that Steven Moffat would be proud of, and frankly I welcome it with open arms. And like all infuriating time travel stories, it ends with the major events of the film not actually having happened. Technically.

If you like Doctor Who, if you like time travel, if you like British comedy.., you should like this film.

I'd definitely recommend it.


Catch Me If You can

Great fun. The life of Frank Abagnale Jr. - renowned fraudster. The man who could charm the pants off of anyone. Then slip out the window with all your money. But you'd be too damn impressed to care.

I wouldn't buy it on DVD (unless I were feeling particularly impulsive). But odds are, if you wait til Christmas it'll be on then, if not before. And it is worth watching.


The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus



Heath Ledger's last film. Which is a shame, because he was damn good in it! Johnny Depp was similarly on form; Jude Law and Collin Farrell, nothing special. And Lily Cole was surprisingly not crap!

The story itself surrounds Dr Parnassus and his on-going deals with The Devil - the latest of which is first to five souls, the prize being Parnassus' daughter. And thank God Heath Ledger showed up (hanging from a bridge) or Parnassus would have failed miserably. I mean he did still failed, but it's a lot more intricate than that.

It's quaint and magical and charming; But surprisingly underwhelming. I mean it was 4 out of 5 stars good, but I was expecting something a little more.. epic. If you were planning on buying it, I'd give it a couple of months til the price drops again, but it is worth watching nonetheless.


The Mist

For the love of God, why didn't they kill that nut-case sooner?! The Mist, for those who don't know, features the most infuriating religious psychopath you will ever see, and it'll have you wanting to round up all the God-fearing and have them shot. You know, just in case.

Based on a book by Stephen King, it's fantastic, end of the world, horror that's more about how people can turn against each other in dire situations, than about the actual threat. Though the monsters are suitably formidable.

The Dream Lord himself (Toby Jones)co-stars as friendly shop assistant and surprise bad-ass, and he was just plain amazing. So how dare they let him get eaten when he was so close to freedom and safety.

The other amazing thing about The Mist is its ending. So bittersweet, you'll hate Stephen King for daring to think up something so sinister. But I'm not going to give it away.

Just watch the God damn film! About £10 in HMV, but if you can find it in ASDA (Living) it's £3, and for that price you might as well. Online, you'll have to look it up yourself.


A Scanner Darkly

The rotoscoped marvel - it's basically a cartoon traced from live action film. And it works to good effect. Especially in the more bizarre scenes.

Based on the book of the same title, this is a semi-autobiography of a period of Philip K Dick's life, and as such, it's one of those stories that doesn't really seem to be going anywhere until the big reveal at the end. And what you have at the end is that reveal that a drug rehab clinic uses its most messed up patients to (secretly) grow the drugs that put them in rehab. Keanu was purposefully made addicted to the drugs (unbeknownst to be) by the government so he could get them their evidence.

Robert Downey Jr is great in it. Keanu Reeves is Keanu Reeves. Overall, it's decent. I wouldn't pay for it. I probably wouldn't be bothered about watching it again. But it was worth watching the once. So if it's ever on TV..



Total Recall

"I just had a terrible thought - what if this is a dream?"

Inception, eat your heart out! Based on the story "We Can Remember It For You Whole-sale" by professional mind-fucker, Philip K. Dick.

Staring Governor Schwarzenegger, for the most part it's Sci-fi action thriller, and a decent one at that, if a little flamboyant.

But it gets bonus points in my book thanks to how it's framed. It starts with Arnie going to 'Rekall', a company which offers 'holidays' in the form of implanted memories (claiming that it's just as good as actually going on the holiday). But they offer Arnie something special - an adventure holiday, where he plays the part of a secret agent, who has to save Mars.

But when the machine's started up, it triggers some erased memories that, in fact, he was already a secret agent. Then shit gets real as he's hunted down by his ex-employer, eventually venturing to Mars and so on.

Or does he? Okay, my description was biased because I reckon it was all just implanted memories, but if you watch it yourself you may disagree. And it is just a massive mind-fuck.

The ending may not be as subtle as Inception's. But it doesn't really need to be. It suffices. Again, it's not something I'd pay for, but if you can see it for free, you definitely should.

Apparently they're remaking it as well, so should be interesting to see what they do with it.


And finally


Mr Nobody



My new favourite film. Why, oh why aren't you available outside of France yet? Over a year ago I saw a trailer for it on the Empire website and I've been waiting ever since. Anyway, I did finally get to watch it. And wow!

It stars Jared Leto (the 'pretty boy' from Fight Club and lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars), as the dubiously named "Nemo Nobody"* - but I'm willing to forgive that, because it's just so damn good. It's Sci-fi with a heavy dose of quantum physics and it's three love stories for the price of one. In fact, Jared essentially plays 12 different possible outcomes of the same life - any and all of which could be real. And the big reveal is just magnificent.

The cinematography is just plain gorgeous; the music is perfect, visually it's stunning, and the DVD need to be released over here right now!

As I may have mentioned, you can't buy it outside of France yet. But when you can, you should. And if you can't wait til then, well, there are other places you can find it...

[*- nemo is Latin for nobody]


Oatzy.

Inception - A Review

Don't get me wrong, The Matrix is a good film. But held up next to Inception, it has the comparative emotional and philosophical depth of [generic thriller].

The main philosophical idea of The Matrix is the suggestion that, maybe, our world isn't real - that we're really in, or part of, a computer simulation - and more importantly, that we have no really way of knowing whether or not that's the case.

But realistically, this is an idea that has been considered and explorer a lot throughout history, dating back as far as the ancient Greeks. And this is evident in this article, which lists some of The Matrix' influences and interpretations. Just because it was the first to bring the idea into wide-spread popular culture, doesn't mean it was the first to do it ever.

But enough about The Matrix and the ridiculousness of its being held up as a yard-stick for all modern Sci-fi and reality questioning.


Okay, first of all, let me get this out of the way - the final scene of Inception wasn't a dream! Contrary to appearances, Cobb's children were wearing different clothes AND were played by DIFFERENT ACTORS! And there are other hints, like how Cobb is always wearing his wedding ring in dreams, but never in reality - he wasn't wearing it in the final scene.

So, mystery solved. End of story.


Inception, for those who still don't know, is the film that isn't about stealing ideas through dreams. While the film plays out like a heist movie, it's actually quite the contrary - inception is the act of placing the seeds of an idea into a subject's subconscious, so as to affect a change in the way the subject thinks or acts.

Businessman, Saito, hires protagonist Cobb to make business rival, Fischer, dissolve his dying father's company, using inception to plant the idea in Fischer's mind. And this forms the core of the film. Not that it's anywhere near that simple.

And if that were all there was to the movie, then what we'd have would be a good Sci-Fi thriller (like The Matrix) with a cool twist and some magnificent cinematography. I mean, visually it's just plain gorgeous. As is Hans Zimmer's hauntingly beautiful score.


But Nolan adds extra depth to the story with a second narrative strand, involving Cobb's wife.

The story goes like this: having spent an extended period in a shared dream, Cobb had to convince his wife, Mal, that their dream world was just that. So, by inception, he planted the idea in her mind that their world wasn't real. This worked. And to wake up they killed themselves in perhaps the most gruesome way possible - head on a train track + on-coming train.

But having woken up, Mal was convinced that the real world was a dream as well. And that, to wake up, she and Cobb had to kill themselves again. This eventually led to Mal committing suicide.

What you get, then, is that same question - is this world real? But with the added gambit that if you die in the simulated world, you wake up. It's like the film's saying "Go ahead, test the reality of your world. I dare you!". And that makes it all together more sinister.

You also have Cobb's guilt manifesting itself as Mal popping up in his dream-share jobs, and sabotaging him. (But since she's just a projection of his memories, he's actually just sabotaging himself).

And all this adds an extra dimension to the film. Needless to say, my summary nowhere near does the film justice though.


The most common negative reviews I've seen, besides the ones that call it over-rated/over-hyped/etc, have included these words - 'confusing' and 'boring'. Now, I'm not suggesting these reviewers are just too stupid to follow or understand the film (because I'm not a bastard). But you feel free to make your own judgement on that.

I've also seen more extreme reviews; and perhaps evident by this entire post, the most infuriating (for me) were the ones that had the audacity to claimed that Inception is just a rip-off of The Matrix. Anyone who genuinely thinks that deserves a good, hard slap, which I would gladly administer.


I'm not going to claim that Inception is perfect, or even my favourite film. But it is a damn good film! If there is anyone in the world who hasn't seen it yet, I'm not going to demand you go and see it right now. But if you want my opinion, I would definitely recommend it.

And if you find yourself at all confused as to what's going on, go see it again! And if you're still confused, there are plenty of explanations online (and an infographic).
But really, it's best just to enjoy it without asking too many questions. Because you can ruin anything by over-thinking it.

And if you prefer to think of the ending as being ambiguous, or even a dream, then feel free. I've put forward my case, but I'm sure there's someone in the world who can give you a convincing counter-argument. And unless Nolan himself gives us an answer, we may never know for certain.


Oh, and if you have a spare moment, you might also like to check out my previous post - "If You Liked Inception...".



Oatzy.


[I may have gone a little over the top with The Matrix abuse. I'm sorry. It really is a good film.]

If You Liked Inception...

If you didn't know by now, Inception is the most epic film in existence that everyone is talking about, with the ending that people will furiously debate until the end of time. And it will make your head explode.

It's also responsible for a new spate of 'ironic' reality questioning; much like how The Matrix gave us "or are we really in the matrix?", etc. Thanks to Inception we now also have "or are we really dreaming?" (and derivatives there of).

But I digress. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't being entirely sarcastic up there. It really is an amazing film, and no doubt has already earned its place in cinematic history.

As the title suggests, this blog is intended to suggest films, TV and books that go along similar lines or have similar elements to Inception. And hopefully, these will be things you'll be interested in watching or reading. (Assuming you haven't already).

This is by no means a comprehensive list. It's just a few I thought of. Feel free to suggest your own in the comments.

Now, I should forewarn - while I'm not going to explain the plot of Inception, there will be spoilers. The same goes for the other films and books I'll be suggesting. Consider this fair warning.

And besides, if you don't know what's going on in the film by now, you clearly need to go see it again!

Ocean's 11 (et al.)

I can't say I know or have seen many heist movies. The ones that immediately come to mind though are the Ocean's films. And I suppose there is similarity, in that they and Inception both involve convoluted plans required to pull of the heists/inception. But as I say, I haven't seen them. But they seem like they'd be worth a look. I certainly intend to see them at some point.

The World is Not Enough

What I do know a little about is Bond films. And while there's little to compare to, I thought I'd bring up a part of this one.

One of R's inventions in this film is a pair of glasses that create an immersive simulated reality, used for agent training. The reason I bring this up is because the dream-share technology in Inception was originally designed for military training. (I know, it's a weak comparison.)

As for the movie as a whole, its quality is a little dubious at best - as with most of Brosnan's Bond films. And it features possibly the worse line of dialogue in cinematic history: having saved the day, Bond now gets to screw the girl - Doctor Christmas Jones (played by Denise Richards). The line is "I thought Christmas only comes once a year". If you're not cringing right now, you have no soul. Or didn't get it.

But like Joel Schumacher's Batman films, is just a bit of fun, so long as you don't take it too seriously. Daniel Craig's Bond films on the other hand..!

Philip K. Dick

So setting aside reality, here's where things get more interesting. Philip K. Dick, aka the Hollywood Sci-fi gold-mine, is the man behind Minority Report, Total Recall (based on "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, the upcoming Adjustment Bureau and of course Blade Runner (based on the book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"). There may be others.

But the one in particular - the book I'd like to mention is UBIK. At it's highest level of reality, UBIK portrays a world where 'Telepaths' can be hired to read minds (and obviously steal thoughts and ideas). There are also 'Anti-Telepaths" who can be hired to block telepaths - kinda like how Cobb offers to teach Saito to protect himself from dream thieves.

But that's not even the main point of the story. As the story progresses, the nature of reality or what is and isn't reality, gets much more perverse. It's a little complicated to explain without just reciting Wikipedia's summary. But the book is definitely worth a read. And fingers crossed someone gets around to adapting it to film.

While I'm at it, I'd also like to mention Man In The High Castle. Not so much for it being comparable to Inception, but simply because it's worth mentioning. Man in the High castle imagines a world in which the Nazi's won the Second World War. Now you're probably thinking the idea isn't that unique. But where this story gets particularly twisted is where one of the characters is writing a book where he imagines a world where the Nazis LOST the Second World War. And it's also worth pointing out that this world he imagines is different from our own.

But really, any of his book are worth reading. The films, you'll get varying mileage with. But still worth considering.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is fantastic. That is all.

Okay, I can't profess to knowing a lot about the old series (beyond a few episodes). Maybe someone can help me out there? But I do know the revival series. And while some of the episodes are duds, overall, if you haven't watched it you really should.

If you are a fan, you probably know where I'm going with this - Amy's Choice.

One of my favourite episodes of the latest series, and perhaps even of the revival. In this story, The Doctor and co. find themselves jumping between two possible realities. The villain - The Dream Lord (played magnificently by Toby Jones) - offers them the following gambit: one of the worlds is real, one is a dream. In each world is a deadly danger. If you die in the dream world, you wake up safe and sound. If you die in the real world, you're dead. Which is real?

So as it turns out, both 'realities' were really dreams, which may seem like a bit of a cop-out, but that wasn't entirely the point of the episode. Watch it. You'll see what I mean. I promise it'll be worth your while.

Another pair of episodes worth mentioning are Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead (written by God among men, Steven Moffat). In particular, these episodes involves a simulated reality, created to keep a little girl's mind alive. And when a major catastrophe happen in the library it resides within, instead of all the visitor are 'saved' by being taken into the simulated world. The people within this world aren't aware their world is simulated, and some of the inhabitants are in fact projections (the children in particular).

Again, that's not the whole story, and it really should be watched.

Michael Gondry and Charlie Kaufman

Between them, they've created some of the most magnificently insane films you will ever see.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Following a particularly painful break-up, Jim Carey and Kate Winslet decide they want to erase all memory of each other (though each doesn't know the other is doing the same). The film overall is fantastic, if a little confusing in places. But what we get to see, in relation to Inception, is inside Carey's dream as he tries to hold on to his memories of Kate - by hiding her within other memories (not meant to be erased by the process). It's hard to explain. Just watch it.

Science of Sleep - Don't be put off by the subtitles. It's quirky, it's romantic and it's bizarre as hell. What's not to love? What you also get are occasional cut-scenes where the protagonist explains 'the science of sleep', in his own quirky way. It's really best watched, rather than me trying to summarise it. [I'm not just too lazy to explain. Honest.]

Being John Malkovich - is batshit insane. That is all.

Chris Nolan

The man himself. Really, any and all of his films are worth watching. Between the writing, the cinematography, whatever. It's all fantastic. You should definitely watch them.

The one in particular I'd like to point out though is Memento. The protagonist suffers antereograde amnesia, meaning his short term memory can only hold the previous 3 minutes. The film, then, basically runs backwards, starting at the end, and ending with a twist beginning. Once you realise what's going on (in terms of the plot running backwards), it really is amazing.

The Matrix

Much as I hate these knee-jerk comparisons - and even more so the claims that Inception is a rip-off - I do have to mention The Matrix. Surely everyone's seen it by now?

Basically, it turns out the world the characters 'live' in is really a simulation, and humans are really just batteries in the real world - a robot ruled dystopia (or something like that). Neo, "the chosen one", having seen the true world must now fight some sort of battle for some reason to save the other rebels who have also seen the true world.

The interesting comparison, besides the obvious interacting in a simulated reality (which can also be manipulated), are the agents. The agents act as a sort of anti-virus software within the dream who take human form and seem to have minds of their own. Also, they're complete and utter bastards. Their job is to kill the rebels - if you die in the simulated reality, you die in real life; contrary to the rules of Inception. The parallel then is to the anthropomorphic defences within the Fischer's mind, who are also determined to kill the intruders.

But despite my derogatory remarks, it is worth watching - if only because it's considered "culturally significant". The sequels I haven't seen. Most reviews say they're crap, but obviously I can't judge.

Okay, while we're on The Matrix, I would also like to bring up a book - Illusion, by Richard Bach (more known for writing John Livingston Seagull). Illusions centres on an unlikely 'messiah' (Don) and the protagonist (Richard), his self-appointed apprentice.

What Don tries to teach Richard is that the world is really just an illusion, and performing miracles is just a matter of being fully aware of the illusion and learning to manipulate it - such that you can walk on water, walk through walls, think things into existence or make them disappear (and so on).

I'll be honest, I think this book is fantastic. Slow start, but the philosophy in it..! Buy it!

Shutter Island

Now, here's an interesting one. In Shutter Island, Leonard DiCaprio plays a cop investigating an impossible escape on an island-based lunatic asylum. But here's the interesting part - while on the island, Leo has to fight within his own mind to try to distinguish reality from fantasy, all the while being haunted by visions of his dead wife. I know, right?

Okay, I'm not suggesting either ripped off the other. The two films are actually very different. Just thought I'd point that out.

The Prisoner (Remake)

Hated by almost everyone who held the original series too dear to judge this mini-series on its own merit, the remake ended up getting far less respect than it deserved. Outwardly, the premise is the same – protagonist, Number Six, quits important job, suddenly wakes up to find he's a prisoner in 'the village'. He's constantly trying to escape and the main antagonist, Number Two, is constantly thwarting him.

But realistically, the remake is, in fact, more of a re-imagining. This becomes abundantly clear when you get to the big reveal ending. It this version, the village in fact doesn't exist in the real work. What it is, is a higher state of consciousness - held inside the mind of one 'dreamer' - into which the villagers are brought. But while the shared consciousness in Inception was used for the redistribution of information and ideas, The Prisoner uses this world as a sort of rehabilitation centre - Six having been brought in to eventually be broken and to take over for Two, being a kinder sort of leader than the devious and malicious Ian McKellen.

Regardless of how you felt about the original series, this really should be seen as something distinct. And while it is a bit slow to start and very baffling in places, it deserves at least a chance.

Nightmare on Elm Street.

As far as I can tell, in these films dreams can be shared. Okay, you probably already know the story - Freddy Krueger was killed by these parents, so now as some sort of un-dead being, he takes revenge by attacking their children in their dreams. Or something like that. Okay, I haven't seen it.

Anyway, the major way this differs from Inception is that any injuries inflicted in a dream is translated into the real world - and that includes death! Other than that it's a fairly bog-standard horror film, but still worth seeing by virtue of the fact it's a classic. And I don't know, maybe it (or its remake, or its sequels) are good. You'll have to ask someone who knows.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The final part. What the fuck is going on there!?

Explanations in the comments, please. Best I can tell... I.. I don't even know. It's like a weird dream or hallucination or something, well outside the bounds of reality. And did I mention it's completely inex-fucking-splicable. Magnificent, marvellous piece of cinema though! The whole film is. And Nolan did give it as one of his influences.

Sandman

The critically acclaimed graphic novel series by geek God, Neil Gaiman. "It chronicles the adventures of 'Dream' of 'The Endless', who rules over the world of dreams" [wiki]. I haven't read it yet. But I swear to God I will!

While we're on Neil, one work I have read is Signal To Noise, which includes Dave Mckean's gorgeous illustrations (see also:  Arkham Asylum). Signal To Noise is the story of an old man, dying from cancer, but who's determined to finish writing his last film – an apocalyptic tale, set in 999AD. Along the way you get general blurring of reality as his condition deteriorates. I know I'm not talking it up much, but trust me, it's amazing.

Oh, and also, Stardust – fantastic. Film and book.

Misc.

Okay, I'm starting to run out of steam here. So to finish off, here is a list of films and books where reality is distorted; whether by drugs or madness or just in general weirdness (all of which I would recommend):

Tron
The Machinist
Truman Show

Requiem for a Dream

Trainspotting (Irving Walsh)

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thomas)

American Psycho (Brett Easton Ellis)

Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)

The Wall (Pink Floyd)

The Atrocity Exhibition, by J.G. Ballard

Mobius Dick, By Andrew Crumey
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll

Various works by Edgar Allan Poe

Feel free to suggest more of your own.

Special Mention - Jorge Luis Borges

I haven't read any of his work myself, but I've heard people recommend Borges' work time and time again. Rest assured I will read some of his eventually. And you should too.

The reason I mention him is because Nolan has stated in interview that Inception shares some basic ideas from some of Borges' shorts stories, including in particular The Circular Ruins and The Secret Miracle.

Now I'm not going to try and summarise them, because I'd just be rephrasing the summary from wikipedia. But they certainly look interesting, and if I ever get my hands on copies, I shall add them to my reading pile.

Anyway, that should be enough to be getting on with. There are other works that Nolan himself gives as inspirations and influences, and I'm sure you have your own suggestion. Do share.

And if I've got anything wrong above, feel free to correct me. I, by no means, claim to be 100% accurate.

Anyway, enjoy!

Oatzy.